51 Japanese Deja Vu Expressions

Two of the biggest challenges with learning Japanese from a scratch is that:

1) Beginners can often find it challenging to reproduce the language in the same way that they hear it. I still have my moments where I find myself stammering my Japanese more than a child who’s just had a rather frightening encounter with Stephen King’s, Pennywise the Clown.

2) It can be tough for your poor ears to sift through those dense mounds of language dust to find those shiny “nugget” words, phrases and expressions that you actually took the time to study.

Sure, sometimes it’s not easy, especially if you’re learning Japanese on your own. But embracing the process as a fun challenge instead of some insurmountable obstacle is a mindset shift that may help you to power through those listening/speaking plateaus.

One thing I’ve started doing for fun is just started taking twenty minutes or so just to sit in front of my TV and turn to a Japanese program that looks interesting. I take out a pencil and just try to pick out ten-to-fifteen Japanese words that I don’t know or write down ten to fifteen words I was actually able to recognize.

I was recently watching an infomercial for a woman’s skin-care product and heard the expression 『すべすべ』 (sube sube). I instantly recognized that as an expression for smooth because I had been making a list of all of the Japanese “deja-vu” expressions that I could think of.

Why do I call these deja vu expressions? Because they’re the same Japanese word repeated twice or more in succession.

These word doubles can be a lot easier to catch than some other expressions spoken an top, native speed. That brief moment of deja-vu can be like a Keeanu Reeves “Whoa…” experience. It’s a real Japanese confidence booster.

The expression すべすべ (sube sube) is an example of a Japanese ‘double word’ expression for “smooth” (usually referring to skin).

すべすべじゃない. An example of skin that’s not ‘sube sube’ (because of the beard).

Here is list of 51 different deja vu expressions that I have heard, asked, or read about. I think you’ll come across these Japanese terms more often than you might think (some more than others of course). Many of the words in this list have examples while others don’t. In the cases where there are no examples, I may have picked up the word, but not fully learned how to use it yet, or they may be sound-related words, etc. In either case, this gives me a reason to come back and update this list over time:

Japanese Deja Vu Expressions For Physical Characteristics

1. Giri giri ぎりぎり – Barely
Example: ぎりぎりで仕事に間に合った。
Giri giri de shigoto ni maniatta
I barely made it to work on time.

8. Labu labu らぶらぶ = In love
Great example of when to use it: I don’t often hear this one listed in a sentence. I’m guessing maybe you’d use suru if you did.

More often than not, I hear it when kids see me doing a classroom demonstration with a female teacher or giving a female teacher a high five. When you see a potentially romantic situation you’d just say “Labu Labu.” I hear it more from children, or adult Japanese women pretending to be young children, than anything.

Pop! Pop!- An expression of extreme happiness or rage.
This isn’t actually a Japanese expression, which is why it’s not numbered. I was making sure you were paying attention.
(I was also checking to see if there were any other fans of that show “Community.”)

30. Mada mada まだまだ = To still have more to go. More to come.
Example: フェラーリを買っている？いいえお金がまだまだたりない。
Ferrari wo katte iru? Iie okane ga mada mada tarinai.
Are you buying a Ferrari? No, no, I still don’t have enough money yet.

31. Masu Masu – More and more
Example: ガソリンはますますあがる。ハイブリッドを買うかな？
Gasorin no bukka ha masu masu agaru. Hybrido wo kau kana?
Gas prices are rising more and more. Maybe I should buy a hybrid?

49. Sou Sou そうそう = yes (right, right)
When to use this one: When you wholeheartedly agree with something someone says.

50. Tama tama たまたま= By chance, it just so happens
Example: 六本木でたまたまトーミリージョヌズに会った
Roppongi de tamatma Tommy Lee Jones ni atta
I happened to run into Tommy Lee Jones in Roppongi
(true story by the way )

51. Yura yura = Slowly swaying from side to side
Example: 風で木はゆらゆらしている
Kaze de ki wa yura yura shite iru
The trees were swaying in the wind.

Although it takes time to figure out exactly when and how to use these during conversation, just being familiar with them can make a huge difference in what you can glean from conversations. Using these expressions can also provide subtle Japanese grammar pattern clues. Is the deja vu expression followed by “suru?” “To?” Something else? Do I use it at the beginning of a sentence? At the end?

Asking yourself these questions, giving yourself a chance to actually try these out (and screw them up) is all a part of the fun! You’ll feast on some cool expressions and get a little grammar juice to go with it.

The next time you’re listening to a Japanese conversation, really feeling some Japanese music, or even watching tv, see if you can hear any of these expressions. Get out there and enjoy it!

Did I Miss Any?

Would you like to add any to this list? Do you know any other Japanese word doubles? If so fire away in the comments section below!

Donald Ash is an ATLien expat who has been living in a Japanese time warp for the last six years. While in aforesaid time warp, he discovered that he absolutely loves writing, blogging, and sharing. Donald is the creator, writer, designer, editor, programmer, and occasional bad artist of thejapanguy.com blog (that's just way too many hats, dude). Wanna know more about this guy? Check out his "What's Your Story" page.

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I think Nr. 36 Atsu atsu should be VERY Hot and not VERY Hold
But thanks for this list. It will help a lot during my 1 year in japan

thejapanguy

Thanks Kobuta! I hope it serves you well
Nice catch, by the way. I’ll fix that right now

Kobuta

I hope we could met up in Japan^^ I really enjoy reading your blog

thejapanguy

Thanks, Kobuta! I truly appreciate that. Maybe we’ll run into each other during your journey. I think you’ll like it in Japan…cool place

Fran Ferran

I always thought pera pera meant ‘so-so’. It just sounds that way to me so thanks thanks for enlightening me..:-)

thejapanguy

You know it’s my pleasure, Francine. Anytime

Cesca

This is one of the things I’ve noticed and really like about the
Japanese language! (namely the way they use repetition in phrases) I think my favorite is じろじろ like in じろじろ見ないで (don’t stare at me)

thejapanguy

『じろじろ見ないで』is a HUGE! One of my personal favorites
I’m really glad you commented otherwise I may have forgotten all about it.
Thanks, Cesca.

Cesca

haha glad I was able to bring it back in your memory! There are certainly a lot of these phrases to keep track of.

Jacob

If you like “deja vu” words, or 擬態語(gitaigo) in Japanese, then you will love 五味太郎/Gomi Tarou’s book “日本語擬態語辞典 (Nihongo Gitaigo Jiten)” If you search for it in English it is “An Illustrated Dictionary of Japanese Onomatopoeic Expressions.” The book has over 100 words with a picture, definition, and example for each one.

thejapanguy

Thanks for the recommendation, Jacob! I’ll have to check that out. Sounds interesting

きらきら which is like sparkle, sparkle. It basically means that something is shiny like glass, crystal, a person’s smile, ect…

Nicole

I loved the example for 27…. This one is probably obvious but ‘betsu betsu’ ベツベツ,
べつべつ = separate. Use it at a restaurant to ask to pay separately. I love how in Japan, restaurant staff will happily split the bill no matter how many ways, it’s so nice compared to Australia and probably many other countries